


Goodbye, Sweetie - a 'The Time of The Doctor' fix

by melodysong



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode: Christmas 2013 The Time of the Doctor, Episode: s04e09 Forest of the Dead, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 19:58:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodysong/pseuds/melodysong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River Song was the only one who knew the Doctor's name- a secret which she took to the grave. What if she was able to say goodbye one last time to her doctor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye, Sweetie - a 'The Time of The Doctor' fix

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic! Please be kind.

River smoothed the flowing white dress that billowed around her legs. She stood by the lake near the hospital where she still resided. Her unruly curls flowed as her dress, whichever way the wind blew. She’d been integrated in to the data core for what felt like centuries to her—but had only been months as that was how time progressed in the dream like place. As a time traveler, she knew the truth. She had been uploaded nearly four hundred years prior to this day. She had requested for Doctor Moon to visit her today because she had a request. She knew what was coming, River had always known. It was a sort of intuition that drove her to make all of her choices, not excluding this one. The man, always dressed in his business suit, approached her and offered a hand. “What can I do for you today, River?”

She shook his hand and sat down on the bench while settling her hands on her lap. This was not an ordinary request such as asking to move or for the computer to allow her to mother another child. “Doctor Moon, forgive me if this isn’t plausible but I’d like to leave the data core, only for a few moments and I know that it may be a long while in here but there is a lonely man out there and he needs me. I still have a vortex manipulator and—” River, intent on making her request happen, spoke in a no-nonsense tone but was cut off by the man holding his hand up. His expression had not changed until she looked at him, her green eyes wide with hope and sadness. He allowed a small smile to grace his normally solemn features.

“I’d be happy to allow you to leave. As long as you come back, Ms. Song.” Standing, he picked up his briefcase. He wrote down a series of numbers and letters on a piece of paper before handing them to her. “Enter this to leave and come back, do so quickly. Have a nice day.”

River’s face lit up. It would happen. “Thank you so much, Doctor Moon. I really, honestly appreciate this.” He picked up his briefcase and took the hand of the small girl playing at the water’s edge. Doctor Moon and Charlotte walked away. River ran to her room and took the vortex manipulator from her nightstand where it had remained hidden since her arrival. Sliding it on her wrist, she smiled at the familiar warmth that spread through her body. She entered the code and in a flash of light, found herself on the TARDIS. The interior had changed since she last saw it and she felt a rush of sadness course through her. Of course he wouldn’t stop because he didn’t have her, but it was all new again. 

There he stood, his eyes looked older than she had ever seen them and she felt a twinge in her chest. She'd seen him at the youngest as well as the oldest now. Her husband who had suffered so much loss was at last going to sleep. His hand was outreached as if he was caressing someone’s face that had long since gone away from him. Placing a hand on his forearm, his eyes met her own. Tears sprung to her eyes as she placed a finger over her mouth to tell him to not speak, to save his strength.

“Hello, sweetie.” His mouth opened to speak her name without thought as Clara watched on in a tear-filled haze. River wasn’t the only one losing the Doctor. Clara's nose and cheeks were red, tears streamed down her face while her mouth was pressed in to a tight line. Their psychic link had ended long ago and she knew that she was only visible to the Doctor. Her husband. Speaking softly she laced their fingers together and took a step to him while lowering their hands. “Hush, love. Spoilers. Sleep now. You’ve done so much.” She felt her eyes fill with warm, wet tears as she took in the last glance of him. Her love. The tears began to fall down her cheeks-- she did not care. The regeneration energy seeped from his hand to her own without notice. She leaned forward and, for the last time, kissed the man she loved. The man who had burned worlds for humanity. The man who was a savior to all. The man who had saved her. Her Doctor. She took a step back as he doubled over, the energy coursed through his weakening body.

“Goodnight, sweetie.” As she saw the regeneration field gain strength, she reentered the code, looked at him one last time and appeared back in the data core. In an attempt to savor the last image that she had of the Doctor, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

River fell to her knees and allowed sobs to wrack her chest. She paid no attention to the crunch of leaves under the feet that approached her. She felt her heart pounding wildly in her chest as the thunder started to rumble. The data core always did seem to mirror emotions. She hugged herself and tilted her head up towards the sky and let out an anguished cry, her voice broke. The mud was smeared on the knees of her dress but she didn’t mind. She had nothing to lose any longer. Her eyes opened as a hand was placed on her shoulder, she assumed Doctor Moon had arrived to check her back in to the data core. In an attempt to compose herself she pressed her hands to her face, trying to rid herself of the tears that continued to flow. The weight in her chest was incomparable to any other emotion that she had ever felt.

“Hi honey, I’m home.” The familiar voice spoke those four words that she heard so long ago when she was trapped in the TARDIS and he came to save her. He’d come once more. He gently tilted her face up and towards him. Standing and turning to him, River fell against his chest. She grasped his shirt in her hands— he felt as real as all other things in the data core.

“How can you be here? Doctor, you can’t real—” She was cut off by a finger pressing against her lips.

“Some of the energy came back with you… so did a part of me. A part of me with you forever, Professor Song. My Melody Pond.” He brushed a tendril of hair from her face and smiled at her with those big, green eyes before embracing her.

“My Doctor…” Her words died on her lips as his covered her own. For the rest of eternity, their time would be spent together.


End file.
